In Part-1 of this series, I examined the roots of the modern culture’s assault on and rejection of fatherhood. As Cultural Marxism began to take root in mid-twentieth century America, books and magazines employing the Marxist strategy of critical theory challenged and attempted to discredit (by casting doubt, not actually by building arguments) traditional beliefs of fatherhood and manhood. Over time, the culture developed a tendency to view male roles in society and the family with disdain, leading to the emergence of misguided attitudes and opinions about men.
But as Cardinal Sarah noted in his interview with Catholic Herald, rejection of fatherhood does not happen on its own but results primarily from rejection of God. The culture’s rejection of God and fatherhood, both so apparent today, are not independent of each other. Rejection of God was the precursor and predicate for rejecting fatherhood today, and for the consequent assault on manhood so prevalent in modern culture.
When and how did we reject God?
Rejection of God has become a cultural norm. It’s likely not unfamiliar to the reader’s own observations of society and cultural trends today. But it’s not uniquely a modern phenomenon. We can see this societal rejection of God across history, starting from biblical times. However there was a particular point in history that more directly laid the groundwork for the rejection of fatherhood and manhood we observe today. Let’s go through that history, starting with scripture and observe the domino effect that starts with rejecting our identity, proceeds to rejection of God, and culminates to rejection of fatherhood.
Rejection of Identity—>Rejection of God—>Rejection of Fatherhood
Rejection of Identity
What initially pries us away from the Heavenly Father is, as Cardinal Sarah mentions, a rejection of our identity as sons and daughters and replacing it with an ego-driven identity of self-reliance and agency separated from God, the creator, and provider of life and being (In Him we live, and move and have our being” Acts 17:28). When the Hebrews worshipped the golden calf (Exodus 32), choosing an idol in place of the true God, they rejected the true God for a false one. Pointing to the golden calf they cried out “This is our god…” (Exodus 32:4). In doing so, they were saying, “We are not children of the True God, but are children of an inanimate object—a ‘nothing.’ We inherit no identity from this ‘nothing,’ and so we take license to manufacture one for ourselves.”